The No. 18 AU field hockey team claimed sole possession of first place in the Patriot League this weekend by defeating Lafayette College at Reeves Field Saturday. The Eagles improve to 9-6 on the season and 4-0 in the Patriot League.
The Leopards were the stronger of the two teams during the first half, taking four shots on goal against junior goalkeeper Alyssa Poorman but she saved everything that came her way to preserve the scoreless tie entering halftime.
Less than a minute into the second half, the Eagles finally found the scoreboard, as sophomore midfielder Anne van Erp tallied her first goal of the season to put AU ahead 1-0.
Senior attacker Irene Schickhardt added to the Eagles' lead at the 57:13 mark by scoring her team leading 13th goal of the season to give AU a 2-0 advantage.
Sophomore forward Christine Fingerhuth scored the final Eagle goal of the match in the 64th minute, to put the Eagles ahead by the score of 3-0.
Lafayette avoided a shutout by scoring in the 67th minute on a tally by sophomore midfielder Meghan Cicchi off of a great pass from teammate senior midfielder Maggie Condon to put the final score at 3-1.
"Lafayette played a great game and posed a lot of challenges for us particularly in the first half but I was very impressed with the way we kept our composure and then exerted ourselves to take the win," AU head coach Steve Jennings told AUeagles.com. "Most of all, I am proud that we honored our seniors on senior day - Meg, Jes, Irene and Katie have meant so much to this program and it was fitting that we earned them a win."
The Eagles return to action at 8 p.m. Saturday as they travel to take on Lehigh University.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
